As the Deputy may be aware, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal administers the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (General Scheme). Under the terms of the Scheme, the Tribunal is entirely independent in the matter of individual decisions on applications for compensation under the Scheme.
The following are the annual compensation budgets for each Scheme during the period 2012 - 2017.
Year
|
General Scheme (€)
|
2012
|
4m
|
2013
|
11.3m*
|
2014
|
4m
|
2015
|
4m
|
2016
|
4m
|
2017
|
4m
|
*A backlog of payments had built up that was cleared by the allocation of additional funding in 2013.
The details sought regarding individual awards under the scheme are not readily available. I am informed that the number of applications received, number of payments made, highest and lowest payments made during the period 2012 - 2017 are as follows:
Year
|
Number of Applications Received
|
Number of Cases in which Payments Made
|
Total Compensation
Paid (€)
|
Highest Payment Made (€)
|
Lowest Payment Made (€)
|
2012
|
191
|
144
|
4.012m
|
0.253m
|
100
|
2013
|
228
|
105
|
11.294m
|
2.5m
|
200
|
2014
|
257
|
75
|
3.955m
|
1.850m
|
182
|
2015
|
217
|
159
|
4.016m
|
0.747m
|
170
|
2016
|
210
|
73
|
3.765m
|
0.954m
|
67
|
2017 to date
|
26
|
6
|
0.768m
|
0.618m
|
1,020
|
A decision by the Tribunal on a claim, in the first instance, is normally taken by a single member. The Tribunal has discretion to hear any claim at a hearing before three members of the Tribunal and a person who is dissatisfied with a decision given by one member may also have his/her claim so heard. In the latter case the member who gave the initial decision will not be one of the three members of the Tribunal who hear the appeal. At appeal, an application is considered "de novo". Consequently, the Tribunal may uphold the decision at first instance, increase/decrease an award or make no award. The number of appeals received in each of the years in the period 2012 -2017 are as follows.
Year
|
General Scheme - Appeals
|
2012
|
22
|
2013
|
28
|
2014
|
16
|
2015
|
32
|
2016
|
17
|
2017
|
2
|
The Deputy should note that Tribunal members, who are practising barristers and practising solicitors in the Courts system, provide their services on a part-time basis. Under the terms of paragraph 6 of the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted, the Tribunal is obliged to determine applications and may award ex-gratia compensation "on the basis of damages awarded under the Civil Liability Act ”. Each case is addressed on the basis of its individual circumstances. While applications are processed with the minimum of formality compared to court proceedings where compensation is being claimed under the Civil Liability Acts, in making their decisions Tribunal Members must be satisfied that all supporting documentation submitted is in order. In some cases there can be delays pending the availability of all required documentation and some cases are complex in terms of medical conditions. As a result, waiting times can vary significantly and no data is currently available on what constitutes an average waiting time.